page_title: Metal Wolf Chaos
section_title: Development and release
hierarchical_section_title: Metal Wolf Chaos / Development and release
caption_attribution_description: English: The Xbox, a sixth-generation gaming console made by Microsoft that was first released in 2001. The Xbox was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console market, and was followed by the Xbox 360 in 2005. The console is shown here with the S controller, which replaced the console's original control as the standard pack-in controller. The console is notable for having a built-in hard drive, breakaway controller dongles and an Ethernet port to support Microsoft's online gaming service, Xbox Live.
context_page_description: Metal Wolf Chaos is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by FromSoftware. It was released for the Xbox exclusively in Japan in 2004. The player takes on the role of fictional President of the United States Michael Wilson piloting a mech to battle the rebelling military led by fictional Vice President Richard Hawk. Wilson's mech can be equipped with up to eight weapons selected from a set of over a hundred. In each mission, the player battles through destructible environments, destroying all enemies they come across.
  The Xbox's low popularity in Japan led Microsoft to team up with FromSoftware to develop a mecha game for the system. FromSoftware was primarily known at the time for the mecha combat series Armored Core. Since Microsoft was an American company, the team worked in extensive American context and cultural references. Though the game was only released in Japan, it grew a cult following in the West due to its exaggerated themes of American patriotism.
  American publisher Devolver Digital began expressing interest in localizing the game in 2016. After positive fan response, FromSoftware producer Masanori Takeuchi began conversations with the company.
context_section_description: In 2002, Microsoft released the Xbox console, which was successful in Western regions but had not gained a foothold in Japan or other Asian regions. In an effort to support the Xbox, Microsoft teamed up with FromSoftware to develop an exclusive mecha game for the system. FromSoftware was mostly known for its mecha combat series Armored Core at the time. Although they borrowed influence, the team did not want to recreate Armored Core. The game was developed by the team responsible for the Otogi games, though the Armored Core team provided input for how to incorporate mecha gameplay. 
  Since Microsoft was an American company, they wanted to develop something with an American theme, and decided on combining both Western and Eastern influences. They aimed to create a near future American setting. FromSoftware worked closely with the nearby Microsoft Japan offices, who provided some of the American context and humor. Despite the American cultural references, the game was still developed with a Japanese player base in mind. In an interview at E3 2019, FromSoftware producer Masanori Takeuchi recalled that they were looking to draw both American and Japanese audiences: "It is America as perceived by the Japanese. It's completely fictional, but at the time, it was our idea of this ideology of American culture and comic book heroes, and we pieced that together and it became the president piloting the mech. We think that when Japanese look at it that way, from the American point of view, it's almost like how they imagine a Japanese ninja, and sort of the same ideologies, the same kind of fantasy, so it goes two ways." A Microsoft employee suggested the name "Metal Wolf Chaos", with the idea being that a rhythmic three-word name would appeal to Western-focused audiences, like the American-inspired Metal Gear Solid series. 
  Metal Wolf Chaos took between eight and eleven months to develop by a team of 30. It was released in Japan on 22 December 2004. FromSoftware also released a soundtrack and modelguns in limited quantities to coincide with the release. The game did not sell as well as producer Masanori Takeuchi expected.
  FromSoftware had the intent for worldwide localization, with a targeted North American release for 2005 with competitive Xbox Live multiplayer modes, and had gotten to the point of making available a secret playable demo of the Japanese version through a demo disc in issue 39 of Official Xbox Magazine. FromSoftware did not comment immediately on the reason the localization was canceled. Journalist John Sczepaniak believed the game's American satire and themes of terrorism may have given publishers cold feet. According to Zach Huntley of Kakehashi Games, the Japanese publisher working with Devolver Digital on the 2019 remaster, the game's long development period left its release near the end of the Xbox's lifecycle, and Microsoft was already shifting their focus to the Xbox 360. In 2018, FromSoftware confirmed that the political climate following the attacks of September 11, 2001 led them to cancel localization. Takeuchi had expressed some remorse for not being able to provide the promised worldwide release for the game. Metal Wolf Chaos remained as part of a small selection of Japanese exclusives for the original Xbox system.
caption: The struggling performance of the Xbox in Japan led to the creation of Metal Wolf Chaos.
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